Cyrus Gold (Earth-1938)
Origin Cyrus Gold was born to one of the oldest families' in Gotham during the late 1800s. While the Golds had been wealthy once, their empire was beginning to crumble. Cyrus, whose intelligence was only exceeded by his ambition, was determined to change that. Using his family's remaining money, Cyrus set up a bank. Through a combination of good business decisions and Gold's natural charm, the bank became one of the most used banks in the city. The Golds rose to the top Gotham's high society again. Cyrus married a well-to-do woman named Pearl and they had a child together, Christopher. For years, Cyrus's life couldn't have been better. Until the Great Depression, that is. When the stock market crashed, many people panicked and tried to withdraw their money from banks. However, they discovered there was barely any money left in the bank at all. It turns out, Cyrus had been funneling from money in the bank into his own pocket. He left just enough to make sure that sure people didn't realize what he was doing. Cyrus never expected so many people to come to the bank at once, shattering the facade that worked for long. He sent his family away and attempted to flee the city after getting all the money he could. Born On A Monday... While driving by Soto Swamp(or Slaughter Swamp, as locals call it), Cyrus was driven off the road by angry former clients of his. Cyrus begged them not to hurt him, saying he can recover their money. But the small mob wasn't interested in money by that point, they just wanted revenge. Cyrus was beaten viciously and then shot in the stomach. The group drove off, believing Cyrus was dead and no one would find him in the swamp. However, Cyrus was still clinging to life. He tried to crawl back to his car. To keep his mind off the pain, he began reciting his son's favorite nursery rhyme: Solomon Grundy/born on a Monday/Christened on Tuesday/Married on Wednesday/Took ill on Thursday/Grew worse on Friday/Died on Saturday/ Buried on Sunday/And that was the end/Of Solomon Grundy. ''As hard as he tried, Cyrus died on the edge of the swamp. That wasn't the end of Cyrus Gold. Not even close. 'Wake The Dead' Deep in the swamp, the Parliament of Trees lied waiting. They are the combined consciousnesses of all plant life. They wanted revenge of humans for all the pollution they had to endure because of them. The Parliament planned to make an Avatar to carry out their will. Cyrus was the perfect vessel. They planned to separate his soul from his body and place it a plant-based body. However, something went terribly wrong. Gold's soul was literally broken, with half it stuck in his body and other half trapped in the swamp. For decades, Cyrus was left in a state between life and death, his body absorbing the occult properties of the swamp. Gold would remain undiscovered in the swamp until one cold Halloween night. In 1970, a group of would-be occultists tried to raise a demon to kill their enemies. Normally, their spell wouldn't work at all but, it was able to stir the excess of magical energy in the swamp and in Gold. When Cyrus rose from his watery grave, he was extremely strong and much larger than most people. The occultists' thrill soon faded when Cyrus attacked them. He was filled rage but, he could not remember why. Gold's damaged soul made it hard for him to remember anything his past life, even his name. The only thing he could recall was the last thing to go through his head before he died: Solomon Grundy. On a mad rampage, Grundy destroyed everything in sight. He eventually reached Gotham, where began to attack people in cars, due to him vaguely remembering his killers leaving in a car. However, he stopped by Green Lantern. The hero had been visiting Gotham in his civilian identity and witnessed Grundy's ramage. Grundy was the hardest enemy the hero had ever face up to the point. The battle got so intense that Green Lantern fired a blast that seemed to kill Grundy. While the hero was horrified at his own actions at first, Grundy soon rose. When the zombie awoke, he found himself smarter and could remember more of his former life. The stream of memories caused Grundy to flee. Grundy despaired when realized his killers were most likely dead. Still, he found a target for his rage that consumed him that still lived: Green Lantern. 'Died on a Saturday ''' Using his newfound intelligence, Grundy was able to track Green Lantern to the hero's home city. Grundy continued to fight Green Lantern for years. While Green Lantern could use lethal force on the zombie, that opened it's own set of problems. Every time Grundy died, he came back to life with a different level of intelligence, strength, and memories. This made Solomon an unpredictable enemy. While Grundy wanted to destroy Green Lantern, the thing he desired most was the chance to fully reunited with his soul again. One day, Solomon was approached by an evil wizard named Wotan. Wotan was an enemy of the Justice Society, the team Green Lantern lead. The wizard told Grundy he would help the zombie get his soul back if Solomon helped destroy the Justice Society. Grundy happily accepted. Wotan's team, the Injustice Society, attacked the Justice Society. Grundy was the muscle of the team, holding his own against the JSA's heavy hitters. However, the Injustice Society didn't know the real motive between Wotan's plan. The wizard wanted to raise a being of pure chaos and use it to take over the world. Using the Injustice Society as a cover, Wotan took a powerful artifact from the sorcerer Doctor Fate and started the ritual. Wotan underestimated the will of the creature he summoned and it soon overwhelmed him. The chaos being threatened to destroy Earth itself. Doctor Fate had a talisman that could seal the being but, could not get close to it because of it's ability to destroy souls. However, Grundy could last much longer with it as his soul was in two places at once: his body and Slaughter Swamp. Solomon was shocked to discover he was being asked to a hero. When he learned it could finally reunite him with the rest of his soul, he agreed. Solomon managed to disapte the creature but, his body began to broke down. As Hawkwoman held him, for a brief moment, Grundy finally felt whole. His body turned to dust. Cyrus began to rest until he was cruelly brought back once more. Grundy's Night Over twenty years after Grundy's second death, the crime boss Oswald "the Penguin" Cobblepot had heard rumors that the infamous "Marshland Monster" of Slaughter Swamp had returned. Penguin was interested in this and sent some of his men to investigate. What they found was a lumbering, mindless creature wandering around the swamp. The Black, the sentient force of death, had attempted to raise Grundy as it's champion but, hadn't been able to claim his soul. As such, Grundy's body was left as a shell. The Penguin's men brought Grundy back to one of his warehouses. Penguin had found a powerful weapon to go against his enemy, the Batman. It was hard but, Penguin began to control the creature and used him as an enforcer. Grundy(called "Butch" by Penguin) was more like an animal than a person, acting as the Penguin's attack dog. This lasted until Grundy caught sight of Gilda Dent, a lawyer, and wife of Harvey Dent, wearing a certain ring while trying to recuse one of Penguin's men from the court. Gilda was a descendant of Cyrus's son and her wedding ring was a Gold family heirloom, the same ring Cyrus had given his wife nearly a century ago. After months of being pulled back to his body, Cyrus's soul was forced back into his body. The shock knocked Grundy out. Before Batman could secure him, Grundy awoke and he was not happy. He went on a rampage even more destructive than his first one, heading straight towards the Penguin. Batman and the Penguin were forced to team up to stop Solomon. Combining Batman's tech with Penguin's discration, they were able to capture Grundy. Grundy wasn't finished yet. He was more unstable than ever, switching personalities even without moral injury. Eventually, Grundy was broken out of his holding cell by a man with a large scar on his face. Introducing himself as Vandal Savage, he asked if Solomon who interested in joining his team. By this point, Grundy remembered his experiences with Wotan and Penguin. Initially, he refused. Then, Vandal noted how the one thing that could ever truly make Grundy whole again was death. What better way to die than at the hands of the world's best warriors, the Justice League. Grundy found he couldn't refuse. Nowadays, Grundy is the main muscle of the team, the Legion of Team, a group of villains bent on destroying the Justice League. Powers Revenant Physicology-'''Gold was transformed by the magical force of the Green, with the intention of making him their champion. However, due to a problem with its ritual, Gold became a Revenant, more commonly called a zombie. Being a Revenant gives Grundy these powers: ''Immortality: With the expection of extremely powerful magic entities or complete destruction of his body, nothing can kill Grundy. Even serious injuries like having a limb torn off will heal within a couple of hours. Super-Strength-'''Grundy's strength is far above than a normal human. When angry enough, Grundy can go toe to toe with Superman. ''Super-Durability Trivia -Cyrus Gold was born on October 24, 1889, and died on October 31, 1929. -Since his second death, Grundy has kept a soft spot for first Hawkwoman, who calls "Bird-Nose". When his memories or intelligence is low, Grundy will mistake the second Hawkwoman or Hawkgirl as the original. He will then refuse to fight. Even when he recognizes they are not her, he will go easy on them. -When Grundy cannot remember his past, he will revert towards his main vice from life. As such, he will seek money and horad it, despite the fact Grundy never wants to buy anything. -Solomon can be controlled by powerful Avatars of the Green or of the Black. -Grundy has a strange fondness for cats, often giving them little treats if they dare to come close to him. -His "blood" is black and smells like swamp water.Category:Created by MaysileeAurlis Category:Earth-1938 Category:Earth-1938 Characters Category:Villains Category:Justice Society Villains (Earth-1938) Category:Legion of Doom (Earth-1938) Category:Super Strength Category:Super Durability Category:Super Stamina Category:Immortality Category:Batman Rogues (Earth-1938) Category:Green Lantern Rogues (Earth-1938)